


Paladin Sitting

by itendswithz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, Not Canon Compliant, Season 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 04:16:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itendswithz/pseuds/itendswithz
Summary: Shiro and Allira grow closer when the rest of the paladdins are cursed to be kids again.





	Paladin Sitting

Shiro could kill Haggar. The feeling wasn’t a new sentiment; after all, the witch had tortured the 24-year-old during his enslavement to the Galra, tortured him during their foolhardy (but successful) rescue. In fact, if Shiro had a free moment to think, he'd realize all of his memories involving the evil shrew resided in a cloud of pain and misery - especially today. But he doesn't have time - too busy wiping the white gloop of Hunk's drool off his cheek while simultaneously suppressing the urge to kick the screaming child clinging to his right leg.

"I want Hermana!" Lance screamed at the top of his tiny lungs. "Where's Momma!"

"Launce, please," said Allura, voice velvet smooth. Her every action since this nightmare began has been soft and placating. Shiro wasn't sure if it was her diplomatic training or her attempts at maternal affection. Either way, they didn't work. "If you stop yelling, you can have candy."

Lance quieted for a second and Shiro felt his heart beat wildly with hope. Ever since Haggar's spell hit the teens of Voltron, the newly made 5-year-old has been a loud, annoying, loud ball of screaming energy. But could candy have been the answer the whole time?

"You're stupid!" Lance yelled at Allura before slamming his face back into Shiro's leg.

"Lance!" He tried to sound stern, but it was hard to speak - let alone discipline - with Hunk's fingers pulling at his white mohawk. The haircut Pidge talked him into last month was a bad idea, now made worse. "Don't speak to Princess Allura like that."

"But she is stupid! Candy gives you cavities." 

Lance flashed Shiro a wide, toothy smile and suddenly everything about the teenager made sense. The little shit's brilliant smile would melt even the meanest of librarians and Shiro had to physically look away or else he'd caved in and not reprimand the boy. "Still, it's not nice to call someone stupid."

Lance was quiet for a moment before muttering something in Spanish. Probably a swear word, based on how the boy's cheeks pinked every so slightly.

"What's she the princess of?" Pidge asked suddenly from her spot on the couch. The green paladin had been the easiest of the kids to keep calm. Just give her a book and a comfortable place to sit and she kept to herself. "Princess of butts?"

"Butts! Butts! Butts!" Keith yelled from inside the blanket fort he'd built from random cushions, pillows, and various linens.

The _butts_ joke was the only one Pidge would make, and the only thing Keith would say; repeating the "punchline" endlessly. It had gotten old fast and the black paladin wasn't sure if he could handle hearing the word again without suffering a mental breakdown. Six days of nothing but _butts_ was going to be the cause of the end of the universe, Shiro just knew it.

"Uncle Shiro," Hunk said from his perch. "Down now, please."

Shiro bent his knees, careful to not dislodge Lance's leech impersonation. With the man crouching low, Hunk jumped off Shiro's back. "Thank you," he said with a little bow before running to the couch where Pidge had returned to reading.

Allura had begun wringing her hands together, her only tell that she was nervous. She needed a break from babysitting and it was Shiro's turn to oversaw the pack while she made lunch. "Lance," he said, petting the boy's chocolate-brown hair until equally brown eyes looked up at him. "Do you want to play in Keith's fort?"

Hearing his name, Keith popped up from somewhere deep in the maze of blankets. He folded his hands together, thumbs up, pointer fingers out, creating a small gun. "Butts, butts," he said while "firing" at Lance.

"Oh, it's on pipsqueak!" Lance disentangled himself from Shiro and ran into the fort. Shiro had no idea how the other kids understood Keith's language but they seemed to know the intention easily enough. 

"Princess," he made eye contact before speaking again. "I can watch them while you make lunch."

Allura straightened her back, returning to a regal stance. "Yes. A good idea. Thank you."

She left the castle's largest living room cum kids' play area with a quick swirl of her skirt and Shiro was left alone with four tiny terrors and his thoughts. The first day had been chaotic in all definitions of the word. Voltron had just finished liberating a planet of tiny fuzz-ball creatures when Haggar appeared out of thin air. The witch threw a black powder at the paladins before her image disoriented and she teleported away. Instinct kicked in and Shiro didn't inhale the magic dust until he could wash it out but the other paladins hadn't been so lucky - they had breathed in the foul grime.

They'd rushed to the Castle's infirmary, by-passing the decontamination chambers. But it was too late. As soon as the armor had been removed, Shiro was faced with four tiny faces. Then pandemonium broke out - Lance started screaming, Pidge ran full speed away from everyone, Keith just stared, open-mouthed, and Hunk immediately began asking for piggy-back rides. 

Three excruciatingly long hours of kid-wrangling ended with the tiny paladins sleeping in the same room, Shiro dead on his feet and Allura taking command.

"We need Coran." She said. The note of finality in her voice stopped any potential arguments as her blue eyes swept over the messy space quickly. "He'll know how to fix this."

"How?"

"This is altean magic," she sounded defensive but Shiro couldn't blame her. The revelation that Haggar was Altean had shaken the princess, causing her to believe other members of her species had survived Zarkon's initial betrayal and the Galra invasion. Allura knew her planet hadn't survived the war - but maybe her people had. She was so adamant about the possibility of other Alteans existing, hiding in secret, she'd sent Coran to an old outpost to disperse an intergalactic message.

Shiro was no psychologist but he thought her newfound search for more of her people was denial over learning the truth.

"Coran will know what to do." Was all she'd say. "Get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

He wanted to argue, get her to admit how Coran would solve the problem, but the idea of sleeping was too tantalizing to pass up. 

And now, six days later, they were waiting for Coran to return and solve the problem. The kids had settled a little, growing comfortable with each other and with the adults. But five-year-olds can't go into battle and Shiro isn't sure how they could possibly stop the Galra without the paladins back to normal.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Shiro woke to the undeniable feeling of someone staring at him. The year held by the Galra taught the young man when someone was staring and when that someone was about to attack.

"Don't," a tiny voice attempted to whisper. "You'll wake him."

"But I'm bored."

"Butts. Butts butts butts." 

Shiro suppressed the need to laugh and groan. Whatever the kids were arguing about, Keith just berated Lance. It's a nice reminder that while they may be tiny, their personalities are still intact. At least, somewhat.

"I'm awake," Shiro said stretching upward, hands above his head. Between the Hunk piggyback rides, chasing after Keith and dealing with a clingy, temper-tantrum-prone Lance, this week had been harder on his body than all of Basic Training. He opened his eyes and immediately found Lance standing above his chest, stern face staring down at him. "Good morning, Lance."

"I'm booorrreed," the blue paladin dragged the word out, letting it fill the silence of the room.

"Uncle Shiro," Hunk said from his place next to the couch that's become Shiro temporary bed. "I'm bored too."

Shiro looked around the room, finding Pidge and Keith on the couch, both clearly waiting for Shiro to entertain them as well. There isn't much in the living room that the kids haven't already destroyed, so Shiro can only think of one new, safe place to bring them.

"Okay," he said, wishing for a shower and a chance to brush his teeth. "Everyone hold hands while we go somewhere new."

Predictably, the announcement caused Lance to shout and latch onto Shiro's leg. Hunk is more subdued, but the excitement rolls of him like waves as he grabbed Shiro's left hand. Keith wrapped his fingers around Shiro's right pinky and Pidge jumped to the front, ready to lead the team. And it only took 45 minutes. 

The castle hallways twisted and turned, walls shining white like a full moon. The paladins stared wide-eyed as Shiro inched his way forward. Traveling with one child is hard enough, it's near impossible with one attached to your leg, two on each side and the fourth always stopping to see if he was still following - despite Shiro giving directions at each turn. But eventually, finally, they reached their destination. The large room was empty, nothing available to immediately catch the kids' collective attention.

"Computer," Shiro said looking up. "Activate maze; training modular, level 0; intro to Altean, Safe Mode On."

Instantaneously, the electronic hedge maze, training robot, and virtual program burst into life, blue static light bright. The kids were quiet for a moment, awe shining in their eyes before running to each new wonder, poking things, screaming nonsense and enjoying themselves.

Shiro hid a sad sigh and looked up again. "Computer, where's Princess Allura."

"Princess Allura," the emotion-less voice responded, "is headed to the training room with Lieutenant Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe."

Shiro blinked at the answer, too much information to unpack in one sentence. One, Coran was a lieutenant. Two, his last name. Three, what. Four, WHAT???

Unfortunately for Shiro, the kids picked up on the fact that an omniscient voice in the sky would answer questions.

"Computer," Lance yelled. "?Por qué el pollo cruzó la calle?"

"Llegar al otro lado."

"Computer," Pidge jumped in, "What language was that?"

"Span-

"BUTTS!"

"Butts, butts, butts."

"It wasn't butts," Lance yelled, tiny body turning red. "It was Spanish."

"Spanish butts."

Lance and Pidge quickly abandon their respective computer programming to bicker, with Keith and Hunk egging them on. 

"Computer," Hunk said. "Why was Lance speaking Spanish butts?"

"Answer unkn-"

"It wasn't Spanish butts!"

"Paladins," Shiro tried to gain their attention pushing himself between them, only to have the kids ignored him. "Paladins, stop fighting."

Lance's hands balled into tiny fists, he feet widening into a fighting stance. For a second, Shiro was certain a fight was about to break out. A loud whoosh of air broke the tension as Allura strolled through the training room doors with Coran beside her. 

Clapping loudly twice, the princess spoke. "Paladins, lunch time."

The soft tinging of metal rang in the room as Coran lowered a plate of triangle-shaped sandwiches and two ceramic bowls. Pidge was the first to reach the platter, snatching up a sandwich with bright pink meat. Lance was next, pushing his way between Coran and Allura. Hunk grabbed two, handing one to Keith before all four kids plopped down and began eating. When Shiro bent down to pick up the last sandwich, Allura stopped him.

"No, Shiro. This one is mine."

"Tally Ho my good man," Coran said, voice filled with mirth. The red-head scooped up the two bowls and handed one to Shiro. "You and me, we're eating these."

The purple ooze was thick like paste but sticky like taffy, refusing to break when Shiro pulled at the spoon already sinking into the mixture.

"What is it?"

"The stomach mucus of an r'rartaus. Very healthy."

Shiro hadn't survived a year living in the castle by trusting Coran's culinary skills, but seeing the other man eating the purple slime was enough for Shiro to try the liquid. The first hit of bitter taste was so powerful it almost failed to drown the sharp aftertaste of dog vomit. Almost.

"Jesus Coran," said Shiro between coughing. "This is rancid."

"Yes. Quite."

Shiro turned away from the Altean male to see how the kids were fairing the new Altean only to find all four of the paladins passed out, small bodies in a semi-circle around Allura's collapsed form.

"Coran!" Shiro dropped the ceramic bowl, letting it crack on the hard floor, as he rushed to the sleeping princess. He checked for a pulse first, relief coursing through his bones as the sign of life.

Coran had moved to Pidge's side, pulling her limp form to place her left hand on Allura's chest. "The Princess didn't tell you then." It wasn't a question. Coran had moved on to Keith, picking the black-haired boy up and arranging him to mirror Pidge. "This is Altean Magic - which means an Altean mage needs to undo it."

Coran was silent as he moved the remaining two paladins into place, each child on their back, arm stretched out so their palms all landed on Allura's chest, over her heart. 

"Princess Allura chose the warrior path when she was younger. Alteans choose one life-path when they reach adulthood. King Alfor knew magic, it only made sense for the second oldest member of royalty to know a different skillset. But that was before the war broke out. ."

Shiro sat crossed leg, watching as Coran dug a stick of chalk out of his fanny pack and began drawing intricate circles around the sleeping members of Team Voltron. "Her brother," Shiro felt his blood freeze. He didn't even know Princess Allura had a brother. Which meant....

Coran wiped a tear away from his face and continued. "J'Doux had chosen to study magic when he turned 15. Zarkon had already attacked - we needed more magic users."

The room was deadly quiet as Coran stopped speaking to gather his thoughts. "What," Shiro said, almost flinching from the sound of his own voice. "What path did you choose?"

"Educator. Should have chosen something more useful. Teachers don't help in battles," said Coran. There was a hint of something, a bitterness that Shiro could only place when he realized how much it reminded him of Keith. It was shame.

"Coran. Don't say that. Teachers are vital members of any society. You hold so much Altean knowledge." Shiro moved to place his metal hand on Coran's shoulder. "You've helped this team so much, you're teaching is what's gotten us through so much. Now, what are you doing and what do you need me to do?"

With his trademark grin, Coran explained his process, directing Shiro with simple, easy-to-follow commands. Once he'd heard Allura's message, the man knew exactly what Haggar had done. Apparently, the black powder was a classic wizardry prank - if a court member was being snippy, the court mage would turn them into a literal child as a joke. Just a quick pulse of Altean quintessence would revert the person back to normal. 

Coran was laughing as he told the tale of the time King Alfor had turned a high ranking council member into a crying child during the middle of a rather pointless debate on the color scheme for a peace banquet with the Nea'deres. 

Shiro didn't understand half of the story, but it was easy to see that the man was meant to lead a classroom. He had the kind of charisma that attracted attention; he was goofy but smart, silly but willing to do anything for his charges. And clearly, he was good at it, having guided Allura into a powerful woman.

Once they finished the interlocking patterns, Coran stood up double-checking all the loops. "Looks good."

"Okay," Shiro said letting the word drop from his mouth. "How do we get an Altean pulse of quintessence?"

"Oh. That's easy." Coran stepped over to where everyone's hands were laid on top of each other and before Shiro could move, he slammed a fist down, practically gut-punching Allura.

A flash of blue light shot out and Shiro had to blink a few times to clear his eyes. But as his vision slowly returned, he saw the paladins back to their normal age, all piled around a sleeping Allura. 

"They'll be back to normal when they wake," Coran was a little too serious when he spoke. "I have to leave again. The Princess' message still needs to get out."

"Coran wait. Is this mission really worth it?"

The Altean didn't answer at first, mulling over his response. "Maybe. We can't give up hope just because it's bleak. Voltron was always meant to be a beacon of possibilities. Something to inspire people.

"Alteans are resilient people. If there's more of us out there, then it's worth it."

With nothing else to say, Shiro pulled Coran into a hug. "Keep in contact. She misses you."

Coran gave one final squeeze before walking away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Shiro didn't know what to do, so he waited for the paladins to wake. One by one, the teens yawned their way through awkward laughs and jokes about _Uncle Shiro_ until it was just the black paladin sitting crossed leg watching over the still sleeping princess.

Just as the need to sleep was becoming too powerful to ignore, Allura stirred. "Shiro...?"

"Princess," he smiled at her. Reaching a hand to pull her up so she was at least eye level with him, Shiro continued. "It worked. You saved us."

"Coran saved us."

There was something in the moment, something in the air that begged Shiro to act. But Allura broke the tension, standing up. Shiro followed suit, letting her lead them out of the training room. They didn't speak as the princess walked the castle's halls.

It only took three turns until they reached the outside of Shiro's room. He waved a hand and walked into the room, only to have Allura stop the door from sliding shut. "Get some sleep. These past few days have felt like deca-phoebs."

"Yes, Princess."

"Shiro," her eyes softened ever so slightly. "You would have made a great dad."

He felt his cheeks heat up and Shiro rubbed an awkward hand against the back of his head, the short hair prickling his skin. "Eh, maybe. Maybe not."

"No, Shiro. If life was fair, you would have made a great dad. You were born to lead and to care."

He was certain his cheeks were redder than a ripe tomato. "Princess...."

"Goodnight, Shiro," Allura said. "Go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, just turned and walked away. Shiro knew he should chase her down, confront her on at weird tension building between, ask her if she truly meant the compliment, ask her if she saw herself as maybe a part of that compliment but he shook his head once and climbed into bed.

Tomorrow would be a long day but maybe it could also be a day of answers.


End file.
